Brother? Not a Bother! by Himangi Sharma

Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2018 finalist, Himangi Sharma! Himangi finished 6th grade this past school year. The poem she submitted is called “Brother? Not a Bother!” Here’s what one of our judges said about Himangi’s piece: “Your use of rhyme creates a nice sense of humor, and you create a fun twist as your narrator’s feelings about having a brother change through the course of the poem.”

Life was awesome good.
I lived like no one could.
I played twenty-four-seven,
This was my perfect heaven!

Then in my blissful life,
As if holding a knife,
He came out of the blue,
When I was only two!

It started on a day,
When Dad said, “Hurray!
You have a baby brother!
He’s cuter than all other.”

Still remember the date.
It was May 6, 2008.
I had a new full-time friend.
Our relation will never end.

He was sweet and cuddly.
He made my heart bubbly.
At the time, all I could think,
Was to love him till the brink.

Only later did I learn,
My heart began to burn,
He took so much attention,
Of me, there was no mention.

Baby this, baby that,
Oh, that little brat!
Can they no longer see me?
Doesn’t anyone now love me?

Things weren’t any better,
As he got a little older,
He learnt to hit me like a drum,
And himself would throw tantrum.

He hits me, then cries himself.
Blames me, then pities himself.
Of course, he gets me in trouble.
He is such a piece of rubble!

I absolutely HATE him!
He has made my life grim.
Mommy loves him more,
Him, Daddy does adore.

Why, oh why, Mommy?
I hit her with a tsunami
Of questions to my mother,
Why have I this stinkin’ brother?

She said, “You’ll soon feel,
That the love is indeed real.”
She said, “You’ll soon be
As happy as one can be.”

I had heard enough.
I called out her bluff.
Say what you want,
He is here to haunt.

After what seemed like forever,
You won’t believe this ever,
Mom taught him self-restraint.
He has turned into a saint!

He now plays and listens.
Thank Gods in heavens,
He does everything right.
Now we barely ever fight!

Now I love having a brother.
We are happiest together.
Having a brother isn’t bad.
In fact, it is absolutely rad!

Wondering how to support the youth writer in your life? We can help! Check out our cheat-sheet below which will help you have creative, writerly conversations with your Young Inkling—even if you’re not a writer yourself.

Check your inbox for your free download!

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

disable

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.